Remember when a 100-yard rushing performance in a high school football game was considered a really good night? It doesn't seem that long ago. But offenses have become more sophisticated, and it seems the defensive schemes just haven't kept pace. Combine that with improved training and physical conditioning and you have a blueprint for what's happening on the field nowadays. The result is eye-popping performances night after night. And these athletic achievements aren't just a product of the large-school systems where facilities are often bigger and better. Think of Kyle Graf, a running back from tiny (370 students) Benson High School in Class 2A, who rushed for 2,000 yards last season. Or Keevan Schimmel from Blue Ridge High School in the small town of Lakeside, who racked up 245 all-purpose yards in a win over Round Valley just last week. The list goes on and on. As we get deeper into a season, runners are getting better thanks to the season-long game experience. And that includes quarterbacks, since there are so many now that are a dual-threat, scoring on the ground or in the air. Or sometimes it's a combination top quarterback and best-back runner that combine to carry the load for the rest of the team. For instance, QB Ryan Stanford and running back Matt Jones combined for 530 yards to carry Horizon HS to a win against North Canyon a couple of weeks ago.(click here for the full article)" />

Remember when a 100-yard rushing performance in a high school football
game was considered a really good night? It doesn’t seem that long
ago. But offenses have become more sophisticated, and it seems the
defensive schemes just haven’t kept pace. Combine that with
improved training and physical conditioning and you have a blueprint
for what’s happening on the field nowadays. The result is eye-popping
performances night after night. And these athletic achievements
aren’t just a product of the large-school systems where facilities are
often bigger and better. Think of Kyle Graf, a running back from tiny (370 students) Benson High School in Class 2A, who rushed for 2,000 yards last season. Or Keevan Schimmel from
Blue Ridge High School in the small town of Lakeside, who racked up 245 all-purpose
yards in a win over Round Valley just last week. The list goes on and
on. As we get deeper into a season, runners are getting better
thanks to the season-long game experience. And that includes
quarterbacks, since there are so many now that are a dual-threat,
scoring on the ground or in the air. Or sometimes it’s a combination
top quarterback and best-back runner that combine to carry the load for
the rest of the team. For instance, QB Ryan Stanford and running back Matt Jones combined for 530 yards to carry Horizon HS to a win against North Canyon a couple of weeks ago.

Scoring has gone through the roof, too, as the fan in the stands is
almost assured of being able to witness at least one or two 40+ points
scoring efforts by one of the combatants on the field each week. Games
of 60+ points are no longer that uncommon. A 1,000-yard season
was also a high mountain just years ago. This season, it will likely
be a club that is not so exclusive as dozens of players either pass or
run their way into it. In the long run, lots of scoring makes
high school football fun to watch. Unless, of course, your team is on
the short end of a blow-out.

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